Mailbox



March 2, 1948. c. F. swANsoN V2,437,053

MAILBOX Filed Maron 27, 1946 2 'sheets-sheet 1 lll CLARK SWANSON mbmmgy@ March 2, 1948. ;l F, SWANSON 2,437,053

MAILBOX Filed March 27, 1946 2 sheets-sheet 2 gmc/rm CLARK F. SWANSO/Vg@ QQJW* 4% Patented Mar. 2, 1948 mess UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMAILBox Clark F. Swanson, Cologne, Minn.

Application March'l, 1946, Serial No. 657,382 claims. (c1. 23e-25) Thisinvention relates to improvements in mail boxes for rural delivery mailroutes.

The primary 'object of the invention is to provide a, mail box of thischaracter large enough in size to accommodate parcel post packages, aswas once the requirement by the postal department and is now desired bythe carrier, but having a novel doorV arrangement'overcoming the mostundesirable feature of previous boxes. As will be understood, a mail-box if large enough to receive parcel post packages will have a frontend of considera-ble height, and heretofore it has been the practice tohinge this large end at its bottom to operate as the door for access tothe interior of the box, This is in accordance With the usualconstruction of rural mail boxes, but in the case of these large boxesthe door, when opened, projects so far forward-from the box that themail carrier cannot reach over the door to the interior ofthe box fromhis car window. In accordance rwith this object of my invention Iprovide a small door at the lower front and center of the box which maybe readily opened to place letters or small packages in the box, orremove outgoing mail therefrom, and then form the remainder of the frontend of the box in two horizontally swingable doors or sections which maybe opened to place larger parcels in the box, and by thu-s breaking upthe front of the box into several separately hinged doors all may beopened Without projecting further from the box than does the small doorof the size heretofore employed in smaller boxes.

Another object of my invention is to improve the letter support foroutgoing mail and the ag arrangement for indicating to the carrier thatsuch outgoing mail is in the box.

Still another object is to provide an improved mounting and supportingstructure for rural mail boxes, overcoming many objectionable featuresof previous supports.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed Vinthe course of the following specication, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, inV which- Fig. l is a frontal elevation of myimproved mail box, closed.

Fig. 2 isa plan view of the front end of the box, showing it opened,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view along the line3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the box and its supporting structure, witha part of the box broken away to show interior construction.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 3 but showing.'

the box opened.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentarysectional view along the line 6-6 inFig; 3.

Referring to the drawing now more particularly andby referencecharacters, I show therein4 a mail box having the usual shape andcomprising a rectangular bottom Io corrugated length- Wise a-s shown,sides II and I2 lconnected by arrl arched top I3, a closed rear end I4and an open Framing details of the box, being.'

front end I5. unimportant to my invention, will not be described exceptthat it will be noted that a cross member in the form of an angle ironI6 extends crosswise beneath the front end of the bottom I Ii.` The openforward end of the box is normally closed by a centrally located primarydoor I'I and two similar side or auxiliary doors IS and I 9 and narrowerand shorter than the open end of the box. The side doors I8 and I9 areaccordingly complementarily shaped to close the balance of the openingabout the sides and top of door I1.' being thus notched at lower centerportions 2B and meeting, when closed, along an upright center line 2|upward from the center door. Actually the margins of the door I'I willoverlap the contiguous margins of the doors I8-I9 sothat4 the front ofthe box will be weather-tight when the doors arer closed.

The lower edge of door I'I is hinged to the box by hinges 22 fastened tothe door and to the cross member I 6 by rivets, or any other suitablefasten-'- ing means, and the door may thus swing forwardl and downwardas it is opened in the usual fashion.; This opening movement is limited,to stop the door when fully opened in a substantially horizontalposition (Fig. 5) by a strap 23 securedl vertically to the center of thedoor and depending in the form of an upwardly and rearwardly turned stoplinger 24 behind the cross member I5. this cross member when the door isopened, preventing further downward movement of the door. The oppositeupper end of the strap 23 is formed into a nger hook 25 as a conveniencein pulling the door open. V

In addition to its function as a stop,l thefinger As clearly shown thefinger 24 will contact.

24 also cooperates with the downwardly turned looped center 26 of atorsional coil spring 2l the ends of which are secured at 28 to thecross member I6. When the door is closed the finger located thatnormally the hook end 4I will engage its upper edge (Fig. l) and hold itflat against the door Il in inoperative position.

In operation, then, an outgoing letter A may be placed in the box byslipping it between the spring 34 and clip loop 36 as shown in Figs. 3and 5 where it will be held by the spring tension of these parts. Alsothe letter tends to flatten the bowed spring 34, by the pressure againstthe letter of the clip 36, and as a result the spring 34 is in eiectelongated and the hook end 4| is moved clear of the ag 42 as seen inFig. 5. The

* door il is, of course, opened to the position The doors I8 and I9 arehinge-d at their outer V vertical edges, at 29 and 30 respectively, tothe forward edges of the box sides I l and E2 toswingY in horizontalplanes. A spring latch 3i is secured at 32 to the top center of the boxand depends over the adjacent upper and inner corners of the doors I8and `I9 -to normally hold them closed but by VVspringing' the latchupwardly it will clear the-doors so that they may be opened.

It will now be apparent that the center door I1 alone may be opened whenletters or small packages are to be placed in or removed from thebox,but that when 'a larger opening is needed to clear large parcels, suchas egg cases, pack ages. and the'like, the doors I8 and i9 may be also.opened toexpose the entire front of the box. However. as seen in Fig. 2,there at no. time is formed any forward projection greater than that ofthe small -center door Il. so that the mail carrier will have nodifliculty in reaching into the box from his car window. Obviously thiswould not be the case were only a single door used since, when opened,it would proiect so far forward that the carrier could not approach thebox close enough to reach into it. Little effort or time is required toopen and close the three doors and certainly not enough to counteractthe convenience with which access is had to the bo-x with my invention.

I also provide a novel carrier or clip for outgoing A letters and acooperating signal ag arrangement which will now be described.Adjustably secured byvrivets or similar fasteners 33 to the inside ofthe door I1, near its bottom, is one end of a slightly bowed spring 34and secured at 35 to opposite sides of this fastened end of the spring34 are the ends of a looped wire clip 36 having torsion coils 3l. Thesides of the looped clip 36 clear spring 34 and thebight 38, where itcrosses the spring, is bent angularly inward so'that it will not bear onthe spring. Affixed to or extended from the free end of the spring 34 isa hook 39 which turns outwardly and plays in a slot 40 in the door andterminates in a downwardly turned end 4l. A signal iiag l2 inV the formof a rectangular piece of metal, painted `red in accordance with usualpractice, is attached to oneV end of a wire stem` 43 which has a pintleportion 44 turned horizontally and freely pivoted in a hinge 45 afxed atthe center forward and lower portion of the door; From this pintleportion 44 there depends an actuator finger 46 turned rearwardly andupwardly beneath the cross member I6 alongside the aforo said stopfinger 24.

The ag 42 pivots upon the stem 43, being formed with punched out hingeears 4'! for this purpose and there are Ylocated off center in the flagso that it will tend .by gravity to pivot upon the stem to the positionof Fig. 3 whereat it will be stopped by an angularly turned end 48 onthe stem as will be evident. The flag is further so shown in Fig. 5 whenthe letter is put in place and when the door is then closed the offcenter weight of the flag will cause it to fall forward and project fromthe front of the box at right angles Vto the road so that it will bereadily seen by the approaching mailcarrier. When the carrier then opensthe door I1 to remove the letter A, the finger 46 strikes the crossmember I6 as shown in Fig. 5 folding the ap back at against the door andwhen the letter is withdrawn the spring 34'will return to its bowedshape reengaging the hook end 4l with the ag. As the door is then closedagain the flag'will be held in its normal position. Thus the setting ofthe flag is entirely automatic and requires no attention at all upon thepart of the farmer or carrier.

For supporting my mail box I also provide a novel supportingassemblyshown in Fig. 4 comprising a pipe 49 secured horizontally at its frontand back in the top of the box. The forward end of this pipe is securedby a bracket 50 to the upper center and forward edge of the box whilethe rear end extends loosely through a, clip 5l depending at the reartop of the box, so that another pipe 52 may be forwardly telescoped overpipe 49 thus forming a boom of adjustable length. The pipe 52 isprovided with a set screw 53 and at its rear end is secured by an elbow54 to an upright pipe55 which in turn depends telescopically into theopen upper end of a pipe 56 secured in an upright position in theground, preferably in a concrete footing 51. VThe pipes 49 and 52 mayobviously be relatively adjusted and locked by the set screw 53 tosupport the mail box at any desired distance toward the road from thepoint at which the main support pipe 56 is anchored, thus making itpossible to place pipe 56 well back from the road where it will be clearof and safe from road graders and other maintenance equipment.

The height at which the box is supported is also adjustable by thetelescopic relation of the pipes 55 and 56 and may be locked at any suchadjustment by a collar 58 secured to the pipe 55 by a set screw 59. Thelower end 60 of the collar 58 is out off at an angle downwardly towardthe road and the upper end of the pipe 56 is oppositely angled asdesignated at 6I. Thus the pipe 55 may rotate within the rigid pipe 56and the box may swing with the boom to either side to clear a roadgrader, or to prevent damage by snow thrown aside by a snow plow, butwhen released the weight of the box, and angle of the meeting surfaces56 and 6I will return the box to its normal position.

It is understood that suitable modications may be made in the structureas disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated anddescribed my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect byLetters Patent is: Y

1. A door structure for a. rural mail box having an open front end,comprising a. center door hinged to swing forward and downward andadapted to close only a lower center part of said open end, and sidedoors hinged to swing outwardly and forwardly and adapted to cooperateto close the remaining side and upper portions of said open end.

2. A door structure for a rural mail box having an open front end,comprising a center door hinged to swing forward and downward andadapted to close only a lower center part of said open end, side doorshinged to swing outwardly and forwardly and when closed meeting along avertical line extending upwardly at the 'center lof said lopen end.

3. A door structure for a rural mail box having an open front end,comprising a center door hinged to swing forward and downward about ahorizontal hinge axis, and side doors hinged to swing outwardly andforwardly about upright hinge axes, all of said doors cooperating whenclosed to entirely close the said open end of the box.

4. A door structure for a rural mail box having an open front end,comprising a center door hinged to swing forward and downward andadapted to close only a lower center part of said open end, and sidedoors hinged to swing outwardly and forwardly and adapted to cooperateto close the remaining side and upper portions of said open end, thesaid center door overlapping the contiguous margins of said side doorswhereby the center door must be opened in order to open said side doors,

5. A door structure for a rural mail box having an fopen front end,comprising a center door hinged to swing forward and downward andadapted to close only a lower center part of said open end, side doorshinged to swing outwardly and forwardly and adapted to cooperate toclose the remaining side and upper portions of said open end, andseparate means for normally releasably holding the center and sidedoo-rs in closed positions.

CLARK F. SWANSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

